Means for binding books



April 1938.

D. MADDEN 2,112,991 MEANS FOR BINDING BOOKS Filed Oct. 8, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet l n f. 1. I

if I I I H m .IHIII/ .IHI 1/ Z/ I I ,II J/ W 2 c3 'lfll l lll April 5, 1938. 'D. MADDEN 2,112,991

MEANS FOR BINDING BOOKS Filed 001. s, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 II I n;

I I, if f Patented Apr. 5, 1938 UNi'i'ED STATES Wm other MEANS FOR BINDING BOOKS Daniel Madden, Portland, Greg. 7 Application October 8, 1935, seriarno. 44,027

7 Claims.

My invention relates to a new means for binding a plurality of sheets of material with a coiled binding element. Each of the sheets is provided with a series of uniformly spaced perforations 5 adjacent one end and the coiled binding element is progressively screw fitted through said perforations and about the adjacent edge. Said edge is thus encompassed within the coil which holds the stack together. This operation requires that the sheets be in accurate register and that the coil be rotated about its longitudinal axis.

The art to which this invention relates is close- 1y competitive and items of expense and speed of operation are of substantial importance. The object of my invention is to advance the art by performing this operation quickly and easily with inexpensive mechanism and by practicing an ime proved method by which the stacked sheets of material aid in guiding the helically coiled binding element from perforation to perforation This object is attained by providing a new means by which the stacked sheets of material can be quickly and easily positioned so that the per-- forations therein follow curvilinear "or inclined paths rather than vertical paths and follow generally the contour of the helical coil of binding material.

A further object of my invention is to provide a machine which can easily and quickly be ma ring them into proper register, permit the insertion of a binding element, lead said binding element through said perforation and permit the easy withdrawal of the bound sheets. All of this 35 is accomplished without disturbing the synchronism of the various moving parts of said ma chine or without distorting the coiled binding elements. In fact, the parts are arranged and the method is practiced so that if the coil should be distorted slightly the parts will tend to cor-- rect said distortion without interfering with the rapid output of said bound sheets.

The details of my invention are hereafter described with reference to the accompanying draw-- a ings in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a machine embodying my invention with a part of the coil and its chute shown broken away; 1

Fig. 2 is an elevation of said machine with a portion of the bed shown broken away to disclose the details of the operating mechanism thereof;

Fig. 3 is a detail elevation illustrating how the feed rollers and the driving mechanism can be manipulated to permit the insertion and withnipulated to receive a stack of perforated sheets,

drawal of coiled binding elements and sheets of material;

Fig. i'is a-fragmentary plan view of portions of the feeding mechanism, the coil binding and the sheets of material illustrating the manner in which said parts are arranged in threading a coil through the perforated sheets of material;

Fig. 5 is more or less diagrammaticview, illustrating how the sheets of material are arranged, the perforations are brought into proper register and the coil is fed through said perforations and about the edge to which they are adjacent to bind said sheets of material together;

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section taken substantially on .a'line'iE- E in Fig. 4, arrows in this figure indicate the direction of rotation of the feed rollers and of the coil in being fed through the perforated end of the stacked sheets of material;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially on a line 'l'l in Fig. 4 showing the feed rollers, the binding coil, one of the end stops and the stacked sheets of material being bound by said coil;

Fig. 8 is a a more or lessdiagrammatic illustration of the manner in which the end stops and the guides function in connection with the coiled binding elements; and

Fig. 9 is a more or less diagrammatic View illus-- trating themanner in whichthe sheets of material are stacked so that the perforations define a plurality of more or less paralleloblique courses to guide the coiled binding elements successively through'said perforations.

A binding machine embodying my invention comprises a frame a, defining a bed b upon its upper surface. Said frame rests upon a table a mounted upon legs a2. The frame is built up of two sides and lying between the two sides of the frame are feed rollers comprising rollers c2 and 03, respectively, extending across one end of the bed. There is preferably a series of said feed rollers and each is provided with a spirally grooved periphery d. The grooves d are not in alinement with each other as is apparent in Fig. 1, but are so arranged asto engage the coiled binding element e and feed .it continuously longitudinally of the roll, that is laterally or crosswise of the bed. v

The roller 0 is mounted between the framesides in stationary bearings and substantially underlies the space into which one end of the stacks vof sheets to be bound; is inserted. The end f of said stack is provided with a series of uniformly spaced perforations f2 through which the coils of the binding element'are passed. The

feed roller 02 is arranged substantially in horizontal alinement with said end 1" of the stack of materials but spaced therefrom a distance sufficient to accommodate the coiled binding elements e in the manner shown in Figs. 2, 4, and 6. Said roller c2 likewise is relatively fixed between the frame sides.

The feed roller 03 is supported by the free ends of movable arms 9, pivotally mounted between the frame sides at g and operatively joined by a cross rod 92 at the end of said movable arms opposite to the feed roller 03. The arms 9 are moved by a foot treadle h secured to said arms through a connecting rod h. The foot treadle is adapted to be depressed by foot pressure and to be lifted by the expansion of a coiled spring M which encircles the connecting rod h. Thus the parts are normally arranged as is shown in Fig. 2 with the feed roller arranged in operative position with respect to the coiled binding element e. The parts can be arranged in non-operating position, as is shown in Fig. 3, by depressing the foot treadle which rocks the arms g counter-clockwise about their pivot points a and compresses the spring M2. The release of pressure upon said foot treadle causes the coiled spring 712 to elongate and return the parts to operating position. The connecting rod h is pivotally joined at its lower end to the foot treadle and pivotally joined at its upper end to the movable arms. It is adapted for reciprocal motion and passes through an aperture a3 in the table top.

A pair of toggle arms i2" carry an idling gear 2'2 upon the pivot axis between said toggle arms. A train of gearing :i, which includes said idling gear [2 and a driving gear k2, drives the feed rollers synchronously and constantly. Power is transmitted through a power take-off pulley or gear is fixed to the main shaft 70'. A gear is fixed to each of the shafts of the feed rollers, said gears being numbered 9", i2, and 7'3 and being fixed to feed rollers, 0', c2 and 03 respectively. Fixed to main shaft is is the main driving gear k2. Said main driving gear 102 meshes with roller driving gears 7" and 7'2. The roller driving gear i2 meshes with idling gear i2 and said idling gear meshes with roller driving gear 7'3. The provision of toggle arms 2'-i' permits the rollers to be spread apart as shown in Fig. 3 without interfering with the drive thereof in the manner illustrated.

Extending along one side of the bed b is a guide flange I). Said guide flange preferably does not extend in a vertical plane but is inclined obliquely outwardly from said bed. Thus when the stacked sheets of material f are arranged in abutment with said guide element the upper and lower faces of said stacks and the edges thereof form a parallelogram in section as is shown in Fig. 9. This causes the perforations )2 in said sheets to lie in parallel obliquely disposed courses. The angle to which said perforations are inclined is determined by the angle which the separate portions of the coiled binding elements make in one half turn as is shown in Fig. 7. Thus, the coils being fed through the perforations follow paths axially alined with the obliquely inclined courses formed by the perforations f2.

At the inner end of the bed I) are a series of pointed guides Z. The edges of the pointed ends Z thereof are proportioned and arranged to register substantially with the edges of the perforations f2 as is illustrated most clearly in Fig. 8. Thus the pointed ends serve to form guides for the coils if the coil in passing through the perforations become distorted and bear against the edges of the perforations instead of passing axially therethrough. Said guides Z are secured to the under surface of the table top constituting the bed b, as is shown in Fig. 5.

Upwardly extending bent fingers or stops m extend upwardly from the frame and are positioned to locate the stack of material in proper position with respect to the feed rollers, and the coiled binding elements held and rotated by said rollers. The upper end 172 of said fingers is formed upon a sweep corresponding somewhat to the peripheral curvature of the coil itself. When the stacked material is forced against said fingers the central portion of the stack is pushed inwardly until the perforations, considered in a longitudinal direction, are curved. Thus, said perforations are formed to follow a curvilinear path in a longitudinal direction by reason of the curved portions m of the fingers m. Said perforations are inclined laterally in oblique parallel courses by the guide flange b. Together the guide flange b and the fingers m cause said perforations to follow uniformly spaced helical courses corresponding somewhat to the shape of the individual coiled portions of the element e. Thus, if said coils are all formed perfectly and are not distorted said coils will pass axially through each of the perforations. Any distortion will tend to be corrected by the formation of said perforations as well as by the guides l and by spirally formed grooves d in the feed rollers. All of said elements cooperate together to maintain the coiled binding elements in uniformly spaced coils adapted to be fed easily and quickly through the perforations f2 and about the edge towhich said perforations are adjacent. The coiled binding element e is fed to the feed rollers laterally through a chute n, which is alined with the space between the three feed rollers.

My improved machine is operated as follows: A stack of sheets of material I are arranged in approximate registration and are placed upon the bed b of said machine. They are forced against the guide flange b which is preferably upon the right side of the bed, considered from the operators position, and the inclination of said guide flange causes them to be displaced until the sides of said stack form an oblique angle to the face. The stack is then pushed toward the feed rollers and against the fingers or stops m. The curved face of said fingers or stops pushes the central portion of the end of the stack inwardly as has been described and the perforations f2 are formed upon paths constituting parts of a helical course which corresponds, more or less, with the helical curvature of the coiled binding elements e. A binding element e is then placed between the rolls, the latter being separated as is shown in Fig. 3, and one end of the coil is arranged in alinement with or inserted within the first or right hand perforation. As I have shown in the drawings this would be the perforation closest to the upper side edge of the stack shown as in Fig. 1.

The feed rollers are then lowered by releasing the foot treadle and the rotation of said rollers rotates the coil about an axis extending longitudinally through said coil and the latter is turned over and over and is fed successively through the series of perforations until it extends across the stacks of material to be bound. The feed rollers are disengaged and the sheets of material thus bound may be released by depressing the foot treadle, lifting the feed roller 03 and permitting the bound stack of material to be retracted from the bed.

I claim: I

1. A machine of the character described adapted to bind together a plurality of sheets of material perforated adjacent one end by a helically coiled binding element, comprising a bed, means on said bed for alining said sheets laterally and a plurality of upwardly projecting fingers arranged at one end of said bed and positioned to engage and aline said sheets longitudinally of said bed, means at said end of the bed for engaging and rotating said coiled binding element about its longitudinal axis and to thread said binding element thru said perforations, said means including a driven roller, said fingers projecting upwardly from the plane of the bed, being disconnected at their upper ends and adapted to extend betweeen the coils of the binding element, thereby adapted to permit lateral removal of said bound sheets.

2. A machine of the character described adapted to bind together a plurality of sheets of material perforated adjacent one end by a helically coiled binding element, comprising a bed, means on said bed for alining said sheets laterally and a plurality of upwardly projecting fingers arranged at one end of said bed and positioned to engage and aline said sheets longitudinally of said bed, means at said end of the bed including a plurality of driven rollers for engaging and rotating said coiled binding element about its longitudinal axis, said rollers being spaced about said axis, and to thread said binding element thru said perforations, said fingers projecting upwardly from the plane of the bed being disconnected at their upper ends and adapted to extend between said rollers and the coils of the binding element, thereby adapted to permit lateral removal of said bound sheets.

3. A machine of the character described adapted to bind together a plurality of sheets of material perforated adjacent one end by a helically coiled binding element, comprising a bed, means on said bed for alining said sheets laterally and means at one end of the bed, including a driven roller, for engaging and rotating said coiled binding element about its longitudinal axis and to thread said binding element thru said perforations, a serrated element having pointed ends extending longitudinally beyond said end of the bed for directing the coils of said binding element successively into said perforations, the pointed ends of said serrated element being proportioned to register with the marginal edges of the perforations in said sheets when the latter are arranged in threading position.

4. A machine of the character described adapted to bind together a plurality of sheets of material perforated adjacent one end by a helically coiled binding element comprising a bed, means on said bed for alining said sheets laterally and means at one end of the bed including a plurality of driven rollers for engaging and rotating said coiled binding element about its longitudinal axid and to thread said binding element thru said perforations, means projecting between said rollers for directing the coils of said binding element successively into said perforations. l

5. A machine of the character described adapted to bind together a plurality of sheets of material perforated adjacent one end by a hellcally coiled binding element comprising a bed, means on said bed for alining said sheets laterally and means at one end of the bed, including a driven roller, for engaging and rotating said coiled bindin element about its longitudinal axis and to thread said binding element thru said perforations, a serrated element having pointed ends extending longitudinally beyond said end of the bed for directing the coils of said binding element successively into said perforations.

6. A machine of the character described adapted to bind together a plurality of sheets of material perforated adjacent one end with a helically coiled binding element comprising a bed, means on said bed for alining said sheets laterally and means at one end of the bed including a plurality of driven rollers for engaging and rotating said coiled binding element about its longitudinal axis, said rollers being spaced about said axis, and to thread said binding element thru said perforations and a serrated element having pointed ends extending longitudinally beyond said end of the bed and extending between said rollers for directing the coils of said binding element successively into said perforations.

'7. A machine of the character described adapted to bind together a plurality of sheets of material perforated adjacent one end by a helically coiled binding element, comprising a bed, means on said bed for alining said sheets laterally and a plurality of upwardly projecting fingers arranged at one end of said bed and positioned to engage and aline said sheets longitudinally'of said bed, means at said end of the bed including a plurality of driven rollers for engaging and rotating said coiled binding element about its longitudinal axis, said rollers being spaced about said axis, and to thread said binding element thru said perforations, a serrated element having pointed ends extending longitudinally beyond said end of the bed and extending between said rollers for directing the coils of said binding element successively into said perforations, the pointed ends of said serrated element being proportioned to register with the marginal edges of the perforations in said sheets when the latter are arranged in threading position, said fingers projecting upwardly from the plane of the bed being disconnected at their upper ends and adapted toextend between said rollers and the coils of the binding element, thereby adapted to permit lateral removal of said bound sheets.

DANIEL MADDEN. 

